Global tech giants are vying for a larger share in the operating systems (OS) market amid the rapid development of next-generation electronic devices such as virtual reality headsets and robots.

According to multiple sources from the information technology (IT) industry on Thursday, Google LLC, Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp., and Nvidia Corp. have been developing and accumulating robot OS-related technology.

Microsoft introduced the robot software, Intelligent Robotics, while Nvidia unveiled the AI platform development project, GROOT, for humanoid development. Google and Amazon launched their Google Cloud Robotics and RoboMaker offerings respectively.

Industry insiders note that the companies are gauging the timing of entering the software market while monitoring developments in robot hardware technology.

Naver Corp. entered the market with its robot-specific OS, ARCmind, which is powered by Naver’s Whale browser and Samsung Electronics Co.’s Exynos. The company is reportedly planning install ARCmind to sequentially on about 110 units of its self-developed robot, Rookie, within 2024 for commercialization, with trial tests already underway.

Rookie is a serving robot that is currently active in 1784, Naver’s second headquarters. Naver first showcased this technology at the LEAP 2024 global IT exhibition that took place in Saudi Arabia in March 2024, where Saudi officials reportedly showed particular interest in this core technology for robot-centered advanced smart cities.

For its part, Goldman Sachs predicted in a robotics market report that thanks to advances in AI, humanoid robots will become the dominant technology used in daily life after electric cars and smartphones.

The OS for VR is also gaining attention. Meta Platforms Inc. has spent 10 years developing an OS for its leading VR headset product, Quest, and is now opening it up to external companies and gathering allies for ecosystem expansion.

Open source refers to making a blueprint, known as the source code, publicly available for anyone to modify and redeploy.

Meta has rebranded the OS for Quest as Horizon OS and formalized its transition to open source. The company also partnered with ASUS, Lenovo, and others to expand Horizon OS, and several South Korean game companies are reportedly considering entering the Quest ecosystem.

Analysis suggests that Meta’s strategy is similar to Google’s past move of opening the Android OS as an open source to dominate the smartphone ecosystem. As Meta’s flagship mobile applications, including Facebook and Instagram, rely on mobile OS from Apple and Google, it has long desired to build its own devices and OS.

Moves from Chinese companies are also noteworthy amid the U.S.-China tensions, as Huawei Technologies Co. accelerates its independent ecosystem expansion focused on device connectivity. Since unveiling its own OS, Harmony, in August 2019, the company announced plans to introduce the next-generation version, Harmony Next, within 2024 following Harmony 2.0. According to Counterpoint Research, Harmony had a market share of only 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2021 but increased this to 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

By Kim Dae-gi, Hwang Soon-min, and Lee Eun-joo

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